Three primary tools are required for building the software provided in this book:
These tools should be installed in the order in which they have been provided here. In each section, the support documentation has been provided. These tools are all designed for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP.
Click Here to load in the MPLAB IDE version 5.62.
The following reference pdfs are available for your use:
The latest version of the MPLAB IDE can be downloaded from http://www.microchip.com.
Click Here to copy the "Speed.exe" application onto your PC's hardfile. This applcation should be run before MPLAB and you will find that it requires a bit of "tuning" to find the settings that increase the speed of the MPLAB IDE simulator on your PC.
readme.txt contains the information regarding this application. It is shareware, if you find it useful, please send Scott $5.00.
Click Here to load in the PICC Lite Compiler.
manual.pdf is the PICC Lite Manual.
The latest version of the PICC Lite compiler can be downloaded from http://www.htsoft.com.
There are literally hundreds of different designs for programming 18 pin Flash based PICmicro microcontrollers. The "El Cheapo" is one of my designs for a simple and inexpensive programmer that you can build in about an hour. The original design of the programmer was written for "Programming and Customizing PICmicro® Microcontrollers".
The El Cheapo is a parallel port programmer and requires a parallel port driver to be loaded before it can execute. Click Here to load in the parallel port driver required for the El Cheapo programmer.
Click Here to load in a zipped copy of the El Cheapo Windows Interface, version 0.81. This code will have to be unzipped, stored in a temporary directory and "setup.exe" executed. setup.exe will load the El Cheapo software into the "C:\My Programs\El Cheapo 0.81" subdirectory of your PC. If you run Windows from a different drive partition, make sure that your the MPLAB IDE version 5.62.
The El Cheapo circuit for the PIC16F627 can be seen to the left. Click on it to get the schematic brought up in a separate browser window.
This circuit can be built on a simple prototype board like Radio Shack part number 276-168B and will take you about an hour. The bill of materials that are required for the programmer is:
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| U1 | 78L08 +12 Volt Regulator |
| U2 | Programming socket for PICmicro. Note that this socket and the pin connections will be different depending on the PICmicro MCU that you want to program. |
| U3 | 74LS05 Hex Inverter with Open Collector Outputs |
| Q1 | 2N3906 PNP Bipolar Transistor |
| CR1 | 5.1 Volt, 1/2 Watt Zener Diode |
| CR2 | 1N914 or any small-signal Silicon diode |
| CR3 | LED - Any color |
| R1 | 180 Ohm, 1 Watt Resistor |
| R2 - R8 | 10K, 1/4 Watt Resistors |
| R9 | 2.2K, 1/4 Watt Resistor |
| C1 | 10 uF, 35 Volt Electrolytic Capacitor |
| C2 - C3 | 0.01 uF Capacitor (Any Type) |
| J1 | Power Connector (2.5 mm Power Plug recommended) |
| J2 | DB-25 FEMALE Connector or 36 Pin Centronics Female Connector |
| Misc. | Prototyping Card, Wire, Solder, 15+ Volt AC/DC Power Supply with 2.5 mm Power Plug Output |
Also with this circuit, you will require a 14+ Volt AC/DC Power Supply ("Wall Wart") and a DB-25 Male to DB-25 Male "Parallel Transfer" or "Switchbox" Cable.
The most common mistakes made by people building the circuit are:
The power supply circuit built into the El Cheapo is actually quite elegant and inexpensive. Both the 78L12 and 5.1 Volt Zener are current limited to 100 mA and 50 mA, respectively, which allows for "hot plug/unplug" of the PICmicro MCU without the need for switches.
You should use a DB-25 Male to Male "Parallel Transfer Cable". Cables designed for serial connections often do not have all the conductors wired between the two ends. Serial and parallel cables require different pins, which will not allow the El Cheapo to work. Note that "Laplink" cables will no work at all with this circuit.
Click Here to install Adobe Acrobat reader 5.05. This version will work correctly for Windows XP (previous versions will not).
PKWare's "zip" file compression format is a "Standard" for combining and compressing files for transfer.
Hilgraeve's HyperTerminal is an excellent Terminal emulator that you can use to communicate with and control your applications.